Austrian Civil War
The '''Austrian Civil War '''was a conflict in the newly established Austrian Republic that occurred as a spillover of the much larger German Revolution. The conflict occurred mainly around the Upper Austria region and the city of Salzburg, where some Austrian socialists and communists established militias and joined forces with the German socialists. It lasted from December of 1919 to November of 1920 when the Austrian government signed an armistice. The fighting was brutal, including the use of guerrilla tactics by both sides. History After the Great War, Austria was in shambles and had lost its empire. The monarchy was deposed and the Republic of German-Austria was declared. The Austro-Hungarian Army had mostly been disbanded and the Austrian right was forced to turn to the right-wing paramilitaries known as the Heimwehr for protection. With the onset of the German Civil War, cracks emerged in the coalition between the left-wing Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (SDAPÖ) and the right-wing Christian Social Party (CS). Conflict In December 1919, retreating German White forces entered Austria and were pursued by forces from the Bavarian Red Army. Austria, being embroiled in is own revolutionary activity, had developed conflicts between the Heimwehr and socialist militias. Bavarian soldiers soon entered Salzburg, where hastily established Heimwehr units engaged in battle with them. A number of left-wing local residents joined the Bavarian Red Army, and the battle persisted beyond a simple skirmish. As the Bavarian Red Army progressively consolidated its control over much of Bavaria, the conflict in Austria developed further into a full on war. Austro-Bavarian forces advanced through the Upper Austria region throughout February 1920, capturing Linz and briefly advancing as far as the Wachau Valley before being forced to retreat back to Linz. These developments led to the collapse of the coalition between the left and right, and Karl Renner's SDAPÖ government was soon overthrown in Vienna by a CS-backed Heimwehr coup. He was replaced as Chancellor by Michael Mayr, and Michael Hainisch replaced Karl Seitz as President. This led to a surge of militant support for the socialists, and multiple socialist militias engaged in conflict with the Heimwehr in cities across Austria. Meanwhile, Austro-Bavarian forces began advancing through the rugged valleys of the Tyrol region, hoping to capture the town of Innsbruck. This action led to the French pressuring Switzerland into occupying the Vorarlberg region, which had already voted 80% in favor of joining Switzerland during a plebiscite in May 1919. However, due to internal political disagreements in Switzerland, Vorarlberg was returned to Austria in 1921. Vienna Offensive The socialist forces, now bolstered by thousands of new militants, launched an offensive towards Vienna in June 1920. These efforts were largely successful, and these forces came within a few miles of Vienna by the end of the month. Additionally, socialist forces captured Salzburg on 17 June after months of fierce combat. However, unknown to them was that August von Mackensen's Romanian army had been released from Franco-Italian custody in the Balkans. 80,000 of the original 200,000 soldiers in his army agreed to rearm themselves and intervene in Austria. These forces arrived in early July 1920 and critically turned the tide of battle. By the end of the month, most of the socialist gains in their offensive towards Vienna were reversed. However, this came simultaneous with the defeat of the White German army in the Second Battle of Berlin. The White forces were put on a rapid and permanent retreat westwards. The arrival of Bolshevik forces in August in the wake of their victory in the Polish-Soviet War only served to make the defeat of the Whites more inevitable. Hoping to help salvage the situation in Germany, August von Mackensen's army left Austria and traveled through Italy and France to western Germany. The socialist forces used this opportunity to regain some ground, but the conflict soon became stagnant as efforts became focused on winning in Germany. Peace With the collapse of the Weimar Republic in October 1920, Austria entered in peace negotiations with Bavaria and Germany. The success of French and German White forces in the Baden-Württemberg Offensive briefly halted these discussions, but they were soon resumed after most of the White gains in Bavaria were reversed in early November. An armistice was signed on 12 November 1920, and came in effect the following day, 13 November. As per the terms of the armistice, the socialist forces retreated from Tyrol, Styria and Lower Austria, while Austrian forces retreated from Upper Austria and areas north of the agreed demarcation line in Salzburg. The Austrian Socialist Republic was declared in Salzburg on 20 November, a day after the Treaty of Aachen came into effect, ending the German Civil War. Category:German Civil War Category:Postwar revolutionary wave